Author's Note: It's
a compensation for Jack and Abbie's non-roles in "Empire."
Also, happy 36th birthday to Angie Harmon, who was cast
onto the series 10 summers ago. It's my first fic in five months,
so apologies if I'm a tad off on anything. I may alter this into a
songfic, but I haven't decided, yet.

Timeline: The night of
"Empire"'s climax.

Update: I corrected
additional typos, including the Robert Frost error. Why am I
confusing him with David Frost? Heh. Consider this a new feature, so
you'll know when a story has been edited, and what not.

--

A man on a B.M.W.
motorcycle was cruising around the outskirts of a newfound stadium.
Idling by the barbwire fence, the gangly biker in denim stared at the
site. Suddenly, a Taurus model car arrived, steered by a slender
young woman in business black. His posture straightened, as the
driver approached him. "What are you doing here?"

"Hello to you, too,
Jack. And I'll ask you the same question."

He disembarked from the
vehicle, opposite her. "I'm just riding my bike in my off hours.
Is there a problem?"

Her lips tightened.
"You tell me. You're the one that's been silent ever since we
returned from the courthouse. I go to your office to discuss the
matter, and you already hit the garage. Given your natural ability to
obsess, I pegged you to go to the source — Spector's soon-to-be
stadium. That's all there is to it."

Jack removed his
helmet, his short, gray hair glistening in the streetlights. "Am I
that predictable?"

"What do you think?
Now, can I have a valid explanation, please? You were fine about this
earlier in the day, so what happened?"

"I was alright until
I recalled what Adam said — Spector killed a person. We convicted
him, but it doesn't take away from the crime itself. I know the
system worked, yet it still failed, in a way.

"Such thinking
sobered me, to say the least. I had to come here because the stadium
was why Spector did it. Nevertheless, I obviously freaked and shut
you out in my switching gears. I am sorry." His hand chopped
throughout the air.

She nodded. "Apology
accepted. I don't mind you 'switching gears,' providing you
warn me beforehand. Speaking of which, there is another reason why
I'm here — I was somewhat afraid you might do something rash
inside."

"Abbie, give me some
credit. Vandalizing the place is a short-term pleasure, at best, and
wouldn't solve my overall problem."

"I know, but there is
the weird twinkle in your eyes whenever your hippie passions are
stirred. I mean, I half expected you to dump pig's blood on
Spector."

He snorted. "How
apropos."

"You wouldn't be
smug, once Adam unleashed his own Carrie-like rage on you."

"I fear it — the
man can dish it out."

"I'd be the lucky
one to prosecute you." Abbie crossed her forearms near her body.

"I'm sure it would
stir up your own passions against hippies."

"Depending on what
you did, maybe. Mostly, I'd try to get a good laugh out of it."

"I could use the
laugh, myself. However, we'd both be disappointed — Spector isn't
worth the jail time."

"That's a pity, for
the idiot deserves it."

"Right. Listen, I'm
not going to do anything here, so why don't you head back and enjoy
the free night while you can?"

"If I had a hot date
or something, I'd be tempted," she moseyed to her backseat. "But,
nah, I got a better idea."

"What would that be?"

"As the rural people
say, I want to 'shoot the breeze' with you and make nice. Of
course, it wouldn't be complete without beer, as per our
sensibilities. We're working tomorrow, so I'm using a
non-alcoholic version."

Jack cocked his head.
"Non-alcoholic, huh?"

She returned with two
nondescript beer cans. "I know it's a contradiction in terms, but
do you want to get drunk with real alcohol? And they are cold,
because who wants to drink warm beer?"

"Point taken on all
fronts, Abbie. So, what's the occasion?"

"Something I've put
off for several months. It's either I didn't have the free time,
I couldn't get you out of the office or I couldn't leave.
The rest, you can thank my ever-prepared mini-cooler and its solving
of beer scheduling dilemmas. Its timing is actually perfect, because
drinking right here could be your only chance of getting over this
giant eyesore." She gestured delicately with her occupied fists.

"That, it would. Your
logic is tight, as always, Counselor."

"It tries its best to
be. I don't normally do this with superiors, whereas, you're
definitely not the typical boss."

He seized the canister,
yanking at its tab. "Since we're 'making nice,' you are
definitely not the typical assistant, either. It's very rare I'm
with someone on equal footing in wit, outlooks and legal positions."

Abbie promptly unsealed
hers. "It's worthy of a toast."

The pair clanked the
tin cans together, sipping the brew within. "I can drink to that.
So, when's the last time you've done this?"

"I only did it once
or twice back in Houston."

"They must have been
special to you. By the way, good non-alcoholic beer, which isn't an
adjective I ordinarily use for such a product." He swallowed two
major mouthfuls.

Her tongue protruded
faintly. "Not everyone loves scotch as much as you do, and, yeah,
they were. The early 90's recession hit them hard, so they just
dropped out of sight. I had tried to contact them, but I got nowhere.
It's probably just as well, as I had to move on with my life."

"Even so, we should
toast to them, anyway."

"Thanks, but you
don't have to do that for me."

"Fine, we can drink
to Houston's loss and New York's gain, instead." Jack waved his
tin at the New York City skyline, his arm was toward the World Trade
Center.

"That's one way to
look at it. Cheers." They both imbibed another draft. "It feels
like only yesterday that I worked in a rinky-dink cubicle. Then, the
next day, you popped up in my new, spacious office, stepping over my
boxes."

"Whilst shooting
daggers at you, because I didn't care for the way you handled that
kid's civil rights."

Abbie blinked rapidly.
"Oh, yeah."

"I suppose I can
admit this to you, now. Originally, Adam told me I was jealous of
you, because you beat me to the punch. Six months later, I ultimately
realized that our wise man was right — it's no wonder he paired
us together."

Her jaw dived. "Where's
an instant tape recorder when you need it?"

He did a headshake.
"Too bad for you, because I won't be repeating it."

"You just can't
give me a break, can you?"

"Not on this one,
no."

"Still, it's nice
to know I was right."

"Abbie, I never said
you were right. I'm only conceding that I would have executed the
same tactics, myself." He wagged his bushy eyebrows.

She shrugged a
shoulder. "Good enough for me. Speaking on similar tactics, thanks
for backing me up about Spector and facing Adam's wrath."

"Spector had it
coming; the real shame was that it wasn't our shining hour."

"Yeah, our work was
cut out with both Julian and his sexy ringer, Katrina Ludlow. It
would be worth killing off the brain cells to forget about them, if
this was real beer. And I'm going to stop before I have to
hit a restroom, so I'll just hold this." She jangled her
half-empty canister, sighing.

"Being a gentleman,
I'll bypass the obligatory piss joke and go with your previous
statement. To top it off, Ludlow was the greatest manipulator of them
all. At least, I didn't fall for her act, which must be some
kind of testament on my willpower."

"The woman's been
at it a long time, Jack, so don't blame yourself. Meanwhile, I owe
her for sassing me, except my indignation doesn't pass the laugh
test."

"She was still rude
to you. Believe it or not, she didn't get me, but Spector's
attorney, Mossbach, did — the man treated me like a five-year-old."
He downed a hard swig, his upper lip rolling inward.

"There isn't, and
Mossbach was ill-mannered to you. The irony just intrigued me
enough to think out loud for a second."

"What's the irony?"

Abbie angled away. "Uh,
I'm not going there."

"C'mon, it's not
like you to not speak your mind."

Her neckline stiffened.
"Fine, you asked for it. I just thought it was rather ironic that
you, a prosecutor who has been… around the block twice, get
reproved in such a manner."

He pulled backward.
"'Around the block twice'? Abbie, you can say it — I'm
old."

"You're not old. If
you're wearing adult diapers and require I.V.s to nourish yourself,
then you're considered old to me."

"What a pleasant
future ahead."

"Self-pity doesn't
become you, Jack. Whenever you do pass on, I expect to burst out of
your coffin and ride your motorcycle to the heavens above."

"Where would I be
without my B.M.W.?" He gently patted his bike's engine. "Alright,
Abbie, you're forgiven."

"Great. Besides,
you're not done prosecuting the scum of the earth, so you can't
leave us, yet. What's the poem — miles to go before you sleep?"
Her free palm was forward.

"Thank you, Robert
Frost. So much for my being 'too old for this nonsense,' to
borrow another of Adam's more memorable quotes."

"Seniority could help
you in the job, like if you ever desired to be D.A. Then, you can
take care of the idiotic judges and defense attorneys. Be sure to
call me first, so I can pay real money to see that."

Jack rubbed the
backside of his neck. "D.A.? No, Adam proved the negatives for me
nicely, but it is a thought. If I were D.A., I'd go after
Mossbach, Spector and the judge for his 'get to the point, McCoy'
remark."

"Not like any of the
others are any better."

"No, I suppose not.
There was one exception — a judge that sexually harassed my
assistant at the time. He was a fun guy, in his own Neanderthal way."

"I bet."

"Oh, there's no
love, there. He even cited me for contempt, as I fought one of his
stupid rulings." He expanded himself.

Abbie's hazel pupils
widened. "You went to jail? Well, with your attitude, I'm sure it
was bound to happen, eventually."

"Cute. It wasn't so
entertaining when Adam had to bail me out, yet I enjoyed myself,
anyhow."

"And you managed to
survive? You must live a charmed life."

"I do my best. Wait
until it happens to you with your attitude." His chin was
jutted outward.

"Alright, I'll
stop. So, do you want to continue, or shall we wrap it up for the
night?"

"Not yet. I'm
suddenly in the mood for a late dinner chat, if you're up for it."

"There's this rib
place I know, if you don't mind late night indigestion. First, you
have to tell me where you got the beer. For nonalcoholic, it's not
bad stuff." He guzzled the last of his beverage.

"I got it from a beer
and soda place around Dallas — I haven't ordered any in years."

"Never the right
opportunity for an occasion?"

"Not until recently.
In a bizarre way, maybe I should thank Spector for bring us together
on this." Abbie stroked her right jowl.

"Life is a strange,
old dog. I think I'll write him a nice poison pen letter for
tonight, or to myself, for my prior behavior. Again, I'm sorry
about before."

"It happens to the
best of us, and you overcame it in the end. And, Jack?"

"Yeah?"

"There is one more
thing I need to say to you. I better do it before I lose what's
left of my nerve." She gazed downward, eyeballing the tips of her
long, dark hair.

"Abbie, just take
your time."

"Thanks. Lately, I've
been examining my past comments to you, wondering if they were ever
over the line. If that's the case, I'll be remorseful. Call it a
side effect of my wanting to shoot the breeze with you."

Jack cautiously grasped
her upper left arm. "You don't have to do that, for I enjoy the
joust, as well. To reciprocate, you're right — I probably would
have done something stupid here. I have to congratulate you in
choosing the right form of venting for me: talking while knocking
back a beer. After drinking here with you, who cares about the stupid
stadium anymore?"

"You're all better
about it, now?"

"Yeah. What's one
sole arena against the grand schemes of things? What's more
important is my going after the Spectors of the world. Of course,
it's meaningless without a good assistant prepared to deal with me
and my character flaws."

"A good assistant
knows. Not to mention, someone has to keep you grounded and out of
jail. Where else am I going to find a boss with the same wit,
outlooks and legal positions?"

He chucked his vacant
cylinder into an adjacent trashcan, nostrils curled. "In New York?
Who are you kidding?"

"There's always
Adam, but he's a little too grumpy for my tastes."

He sauntered toward his
transportation, pointing at her. "Wait until you see me at his age
— I'll show you grumpy."

She beamed subtly. "I
can't wait."

--

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